Subsea Robotics Engineer

Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory•Laurel, MD

9d•Onsite

About The Position

The Maritime Robotics Group at APL is seeking an early-career Subsea Robotics Engineer to join their Modeling and Control team. This role focuses on developing software for autonomous underwater vehicles to operate in challenging real-world environments, combining robotics, dynamics, controls, and software engineering. The mission is to develop, integrate, test, and deploy advanced robotic capabilities for autonomous maritime systems, building software that enables underwater vehicles to navigate, maneuver, interact with their environment, and accomplish operational missions. The work involves simulation, controls, autonomy, system integration, laboratory testing, and at-sea experimentation, with an emphasis on delivering robust capabilities that transition to operational systems. The engineer will collaborate with a multidisciplinary team of robotics, software, mechanical, electrical, and ocean engineers.

Requirements

Bachelor's or Master's degree in Robotics, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Ocean Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related technical field.
Experience developing robotic software using ROS 2.
Experience developing software on Linux.
Proficiency in Python and C++.
Experience developing, implementing, or testing dynamic systems, feedback control algorithms, robotic simulation, or autonomous systems through coursework, research projects, internships, or professional experience.
Familiarity with software engineering best practices, including Git-based version control, debugging, testing, and documentation.
Enjoy working in multidisciplinary teams to solve challenging engineering problems.
Able to obtain an Interim Secret security clearance by your start date and ultimately obtain a Secret clearance.
U.S. citizenship.

Nice To Haves

Ph.D. in Robotics, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Ocean Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related technical field.
Experience developing dynamics, controls, guidance, navigation, or autonomy software for robotic systems.
Experience modeling and simulating robotic or autonomous systems using Gazebo, Ignition, Stonefish, Isaac Sim, MATLAB/Simulink, or similar tools.
Experience integrating robotic sensors such as IMUs, DVLs, sonars, cameras, pressure sensors, or manipulators.
Experience with state estimation, system identification, trajectory generation, optimization, or motion planning.
Experience with containerized software development, continuous integration, or modern DevSecOps workflows.
Participated in field testing, vehicle integration, or deployment of robotic systems.
Demonstrated initiative in developing new technical capabilities or leading engineering efforts.

Responsibilities

Develop robotics software for Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs), Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs), and other subsea robotic systems using ROS 2.
Design, implement, and maintain modular software in C++ and Python on Linux-based systems.
Develop and integrate dynamics, controls, guidance, navigation, and autonomy algorithms for underwater robotic platforms.
Build high-fidelity simulation environments and modeling tools to support software development, system integration, and mission planning.
Integrate sensors, actuators, and vehicle subsystems into robust robotic software architectures.
Evaluate vehicle performance through simulation, laboratory testing, and field experiments, using collected data to improve system performance.
Support integration and testing of robotic systems in laboratory, pool, and at-sea environments.
Collaborate across multidisciplinary teams to transition software from development into operational robotic systems.